The Sun. — London, England, 1808-09-29 00:00:00

TEE HIGHLANDS. The poor in the Highlands of Scotland 'beitiviow in a great measure relieved, by an early. -halvesty i and an abundant potatoe crop, from, the: scarcity produced by the failure of the crop in 4807.,it cott4' nects with public duty to state the means ;by , In the northern counties, they hasp to struggle through a spring and .suomer of almost unexampled distress ; and it vl ould be to deprive virtue of one part of its merited reward, not .to mention the names of those private individuals who have contributed, either by their liberality or exertions, to alleviate or remove the pressure of the calamity. So far back as, the month of November, the - Sheriff of the county of Inverness having called a meeting of the beritors, and other gentlemen in the neighbourhood of the town, an association wa„. formed for purchasing meal from those chin - las , of the kingdom where the crop had been . More' , abundant, and selling it in retail, without-tin3nprottcri or advance of price, in such qoantities as the syßall . tenants, tradesmen, an d l a b our i ng poor could afford to purchase by the wages and earnings of theii industry. The beneficial consequences resulting fr or n. this were extensively felt ; it afforded a re- __gulai and certain supply at all times, on theeaSiest terms that circumstances would admit of; and it prevented a monopoly by speculating and selfish dealers, who, cm former occasions, had raised the , c‘prtcsr .tar Oeyonaiti4 v.Atte, pw.iog to no provident 4,..,R15,0rt., af this kind having been adopted. In the ,wesiern district of,' the„coonty,., in the village of ; a piecautiotts'nearly simil ar h a d b een e early ; ; and tnear, it is believed,. during thu season, had neyeixceecled two.shillin g ,s the peck Of eight : POO:4:3, an .treqHently, fell under this. Among, thpse who a .exerted themselves mos t as ,individnals; to,,i - ..elreve':lhis, general distress, the Duke . of GORDON 'deserves. to be particularly no ticed,,. ; By' 1114' credit he co,ntributed, in the man ner already 'thentiotied, to procure a regular supply ~ of meal to the,l.vestern,distriel of his very extensive `estates' iii that :county; an d, i n t h e eastern distriel, he gave 164 than 700,b011s of his fartia meal, to be sold to rlie tenants and cottagers, according as - their ..necessAttes,. renuired; 'at the reduced price of ,"per peck —an instance of use f u l b enevo l ence 'that' it -wohlel4e criminal not to mention), as it was the tm:ans ofpreyerving many from perishing for Avant, and of 'supporting several hundred families, not in affluent circumstances, at an expence less by t one-third than they must have incurred otherwise, 'had they been compelled to go to the distance of 40 or .50 ti:iles 'from their homes to purchase meal for themselves.. If a solitary at-tion of private gellero :sky is !rt;quently seletted for commendation, how ` much more justly are those entitled to praise, Who, Without wishing their interference to be known, or • openly proclaimed, exert themselves forAbe_selief of numbers ! This is the charity that best becothes rank and fortune, and it is hoped it will becOme fa shionable to imitate it. Mr. HUNTER, the brother of the late celebrated Joan HUNTER,,WhO held a place in the Navy Office upwards of 60 years, has been allov.ed to retire upon a pension of 7001. a year. .11einhm Hall, the seat of the Marnuis TowN 111113ND, was last week the scene of rustic fest'vity, in consequence of the Head of that Noble House Laving arrived to take possession of his estates.— On Monday se'nnigl a the great 'nail was .thrown. open to all visitors, and the numerous tenantry. A bullock was rousted, and four sheep boiled, and to getl,er with a large quantity of that favourite bever age made from.malt and hops, contribut - ed to make all heads and hearts glow with gratitude to the Donor. An excellent band was provided,, and after the company had regaled themselves with' the above and other refreshments, dancingyommenced, ‘ v hich continued till a tile hour. The Marquis and, his daughters continued with their visitors greatest p art o f the tin,e. The whole concludawThth an excellent display of fireworks in front of the ball. Notwithstanding an Advertisement appeared in this Paper, lately, c onta i ning the clauses of an Ae t of Parliament, passed i n t h e l ast S ess i ons, f or t h e better 'mar king of Hop-bagging, &e, and to enable the consumers of hops to ascertain-the - parish and county where the hops contained .in the, bags . or pockets were grown ; yet we are empowered to state, from unquestionable authority, that in order to e evade th e Act, the name of the parish and count,y athe rso placed on the bag or pocket that they are (by trade) easily strained in so that, , contrary rip "either appear roerly on the cloth., his Hops, absolutely necessary for the Retailers of and the consumers, to examine carefully such bhops as are sent them without having the name of ~e P"isn and county remainiog conspicuously on the °jig or pocket; and, if not, they have only to draw out the cloth strained in, in order to discover the grossness of the deception and fraud praaised on them. CCRoNER'S INQUEST. —Yesterday a.Coroner's In quest was holden before ANTHONY GELL, Esq. at the Blue Anchor, in George-street, Foster-lane, on 'flew of the body of ABRAHAM TIGIU, Esq. who Put an end to his existence on Monday afternoon, at his lodgings in that neighbourhood, by suspending hirnstlf to his bed-post.—lt appeared that the de ceased had been in town from Bristol only a month, and that he was engaged in a speculation to supply potters with that sort of earth of which they make goldsmiths' crucibles. It is supposed, from letters found upon his person, that this speculation, had Proved un successful and had derang e d his mitid,_as. Well as hi s pecuniary affairs. The means he made- use of to facilitate his destru&ion were by making, al noose in a neck handkerchief, and having,slipped round his neck, he fastened it to his bed-post,:.and bearing his weight upon it, produced strangulation and d ea th. W hen he was first discovered, it was an d he was at prayers, as he appeared to be kneeling by his bed -side.—The Jury found a verdit9; of Lunacy. Since the Inquests. which we have noticed, rr,selt ing from the late Fire at Covent Garden hea Ere, were held, a Fi reman belonging to the Lo' a d o n, and another belonging to the Plicenix Insi',rance Cliom /2anY, have died in St.Thomas's Hose, tp t, he f oreman of the Phoenix, and Stuart , 'a tiet i g i ne ei be longing to the same Company b o cii‘;din e . Bartholomew's Hospital; and.'"a th e S a o v l e die a r s belonging to Guards died in Toibill-f of lir .. • far " lose on that ‘- as is at p resent accoulitt_d for occasion . 15 23 ' 0 B s. TUE NEW SHERIFFS. testerday the Sheriffs Elea, Messrs. Alderinen. SMITH and HUNTER, attended by the Court of As 'sistants belonging to the Ironmongers' and Merchant Taylors' Companies, breakfasted at the City of Lon- tlon Tavern, and proceeded from thence to Gwldh2ll, where they-were received by Alderman CURTIS and Sir JOHI.I LAMER, and condu6ted to the hustings with the accustomed etiquette. The Lord Mayor, the Aldermen, and the'several Corporation Officers being seated, they were formally , sworn into office, and duly invested - with their regalia ; after which they adjourned to the Court of Common Pieas, and received the turn-over of the convi6ts, and otherS - confined in the several prisons, from ale old She rill's. The business of the day finished with a sump tuous entertainment , given by the new Sheriffs, at _ _ the City of London Tivern. i The equipages of the new Sheriffs are the most superb and elegant we have ever witnessed, And they -are entirely new. The Heraldic emblazonments on the carriages are truly classic, and the tout ensemble is as creditable to the taste and execution of the builder as it is demonstrative of the liberality and munificence of the owners. The carriage of Mr. SMITH, we think, exceeds in splendour that of Mr. HUNTER. The body of the former is painted a fine glazed crimson, the colours strikingly marked and decisive ; the ground is ornamented with rich Mosaic work, and a border to correspond surrounds the whole., - In -the Ce n t re o f t h e d oor pannels is a mir ror, ernblainned with the City Arms and its sup porttrs. On the side i)annels are painted the Arms and crest of the Ironintalgers' Company, to which Mr. Alderthan SMITH belongs; and in the centre hiS own Arms and crest in gold relief; the Whole sus pended with chain work, which has a beautiful and novel appearance. A rich bandeau encompasses the upper part the body, in which is alternately re presented the City Arms, ci4 ported by the British Standard, entwined with the Colours of Spain, Por tugal, and Sweden. Tiopiiies and fancy devices fill up the vacant spaces, and the whole is richly orna mented with-plated work and gilding. The inside is lined with crimson silk, with lace to correspond, and yellow silk festooned curtains, and variegated silk fringes. On the foot-board is painted the Arms ' of the County of Middlesex; in a mirror, to corre spond with the body. The carriage of Mr. Alderman HUNTER, if not so superb, is equally elegant. The body is painted a tine yellow, and the ground enriched with a gold net-work. Foliage oinaments in bronze are painted in the pannels, in the centr e o f which.rest the City Arms. On the side pannels are painted the Arms of the Merchant Taylors' Company, to winch the Al derman_belongs, and between theth his own Arms and Crest. On the door-rails are painted the Arms of his Majesty, supprte.d on the one side by a sailor, holding a British Ensign, and on the other by the British Lion. Commerce appears in-the back ground, and the whole is appropriately conceived and Master ly executed,. The body, is lined with yellow silk and trimmed with silk lace, and 'crimson festooned curtains. On the centre of the stayS that'suppOrt the coach-box, which.represent dragons' heads, are beautifuliy cai - ved medallions, and the whole is eM bellished with change of colour, awl enriched with gilding. The hammil - cloth is very rich, and made to correspoA with the whole. The Liveries of Mr. Aidvrtnan SMITH are blue and g 0;.., and those of Mr. Alderman 'HUNTER the same, with this difference, that the o- i ch.nan of the forme' wears black feathers round -.. hat, and the coachman of the iatter red feathers._ Their rihbands and top-knots are, for the former, crim son and white, and, for the latter, light blue and yellow. The City has never exhibited a more superb dis play, or chosen for its Officers men of more ap proved worth and probity. Through some Gentlemen who have just arrived from France, we have received the most affliding ac counts, as io the state of our countrymen who are prisoners in that country. At Bitche, Valenciennes, Arras, Giro, Verdun, and Sane LouiS, which are the principal depots, there are no less than 8000 English prisoners, who are treated in a manner not only unworthy of the charader of a civilized nation, but inconsistent 'with the feelings which humanity generally preserves even in a savage state. The pay of the seamen, who compose nearly the whole of these prisoners, has been recently reduced from three half-pence to three farthings per day, which is a sum obviously inadequate to furnish them with any sub sistence fit for the food of man. But the Agents of the Government seem indifferent to the fate of those unhappy beings, or rather perhapf anxious to con sign them to the grave. With this view they are confined in subterraneous cells and other nauseous places, where,- particularly at Bitche, Arras, and Sane Louis, they are daily dying. The treatment of the Officers is somewhat less inhuman. They are divided into classes of ten each, and the whole of each class is rendered responsible for the condud of each of its members. Thus if one misbehaves or exceeds his parole, the other nine are imprisoned, and can only expea release or mitigation of rigour through the medium of bribery. This is very well understood, and the terms universally known. An, Officer who is imprisoned with several others in a house incapable of affording tolerable accommoda tion, is told without disguise, that for a louis and a half he may obtain hii removal to another house where the prisoners are less numerous and the ac commodation better, and that for another louis be may recover his liberty to walk at large within the boundaries. Ties 6 bribes go into the pockets of mi litary ofDeers, who have the command of these de pOts, can discriminate, with as much accuracy as e. London watchman what description of persons ?.re good subje&s to be mul&ed. Such of the de tenus as are known to possess good property or conneetions in England are furnished with every thing for which they can afford to pay, or can hold out the prospect of security ; but those who are poor are involved in the utmost wretchedness. Tuesday night, about ten o'clock, a meteor of brilliant appearance, with a spreading tail of consi derable length, was seen on the North side of Lon don, for the space of about 15 seconds; during which time it glided with no very great velocity, in nearly a straight direction from East to West, when it sud denly disappeared: it was apparently arno very great distance from the earth. POLICE. I,i ,:.IG /ILE ii. l At,L.—Yesterday a well-dressed -fethale ' applied to the Sitting Magistrate, Alderman NEkVN.. HAM, f o r a warrant against her husband for assault ing her., • She stated that her husband's - name was Post, he was guard to one of the mail coaches. Or MOda r y Tookforenoon, when he was from home, she Took atrop . - portunity of examining his - pockt-book, which she found a letter from a concubine. On he hiri band's return home, she Upbraided him in a smart manner, which he answered by striking her. She said they had always lived happily together, until her curiosity led her to read the letter. The Magistrate reprimanded her for her idle riosity, but at the same time said he would grant warrant against akly man that would be capable of striking a woman. The - warrant was accordingly issued, to the ap- parent joy of the fair complainant. John Minchin was committed to Bridewell for a month, for assaulting a watchman on his duty, on Tuesday night, in Skinner-street. MARLBOROUGH-STREET.-Yesterday, a complaint was made before' the Magistrate, against the Parish Fire Engineer of St. Giles's in the Fields, by several respedable inhabitants of Tavistock-street, Bedford square, and others, for negle& of his duty on an alarm of fire, and ill treatment to several Gentlemen present on the occasion. Mr. Page, undertaker, of High Holborn, stated, that on -Sunday evening Dist an alarming fire broke out in the chimney of No. 18, Tavistock-street, Bed ford-square, which for a considererable tine threat ened pet only the destrudion of that house, but of those in its immediate vicinage. Several respectable neighbours, as well as himself, flew immediately to the spot, in order to render assistence. They bound a considerable number of persOns in Tavistock-street, collected round the parish engine, which was almost opposite the house. Witness and friends went up to the machine, in order to work it themselves, when they were ruddy assaulted by the defendant, who had the engine in custody; by this time the turn-cock of the neighbourhood had opened the fire-plug, and water was rushing in torrents about the street, but the defendant refused either to work the engine himself, or suffer those who ;vished to do it to touch the machine : Mr. Page and. his friends, however, having suffered a great deal of scandalous treatment, thought it necessary to give the defendant in charge of the watchman, and send him to the watch-house, after which they had free access to the engine, and soon after the flames were extinguished. This statement was corroborated . by several re speetable housekeepers. The Defendant stated, that there was no danger whatever to be apprehended from the fire, 'wind) was very trifling, and it was a wish to prevent his engine from' being torn to pieces by the mob that induced him to interfere. He was answerable to the parish for every injury done to the engine, and there was no circumstance in his judgment, vd:;.2li could indicate any serious danger to the house. The fire was almost immediately put out by his father, who went to the original seat of the fire, which was at the bottom of the chimney in the kitchen, and had originated in the carelessness of a servant who had been burning a large quantity of waste paper in the grate, and the draft of air drawing up the lighted paper, produced the alarm which immediately en sued. The Magistrate expressed his regret that he had it not in his power to punish the Defendant as his condud seemed to merit, as, by the Act of Parliament • for regulating the Parish Engines, the conduCt of the Overseers of the Parish only was cognizable for breach of duty in negleding. to _provide parish en gines, and every thing necessary belonging thereto. This was a novel case, as there was no provision of punishment prescribed in the Ad, nor could it be in the contemplation of the Legislature that such pu niShment'enuld be required, where, in tai`,, a pre mium was held out for priority of attendance in cases of fire. Yesterday . a man, who was examined last week on suspicion Of being an accessary to The burglary committed a tew nights since 'in •Mary-le-hone-iane, and for which a hackney coachman has been com mitted, was re-examined. It has been stated that the hackney coachman was seen waiting in the night near to the house df Mr. Benjamin, which was broken open, and robbed of articles ton considerable amount, and on the number being known, the coach was traced to the Bull and Gate, Holborn, and part of the. stolen property found under the seat. The prisoner Draper's own confession that he was on the box with the coachman when the coach arrived at the Bull and Gate, was the strongest circumstance against him, for although-a person was seen on the box with the coachman in Mary-le-bone-lane, there was no evidence to•identify the prisoner as that man, and he was discharged. Monday being the first day appointed for the bunt, a_ tine deer was turned out at South-hill, which was pursued by his MAJESTY'S stag-hounds, and .afforded a fine day's diversion to a numerous field of Gentlemen sportsmen, and others who were present. A CANINE MENDICANT.—A venerable sailor,with white locks, bas lately made his• appearance in the metropolis, attended by a large Newfoundland dog. The veteran tar is an eccentric chara6ter, but the sagacity of his canine associate excites admiration. The dog takes the hat of his master in his mouth, and he implores charity in the shops of the inhabit ants by the most expressive signs. He bows his head, scrapes his foot on the ground, and looks sted fastly in the face of the person from whom he ex peas a donation. If he procures a halfpenny of one friend, he immediately walks to another, and returns to his master with the contributions he has raised. It frequently happens that this honest servant meets with' harsh treatment and . a denial of aid ; but his humility upon such occasions is truly astonishing. Without waiting to trouble the uncharitable, he im mediately returns to his master, and walks into an other house, where he has a greater chance of sue-. cess. The docility znd discriminating faculty of this dog are the support of the old tar, who drinks, eats, and converses with h m as a friend. Their 4iti . macy is of long standing; and the sailor often gratefully declares, that the animal has rendered him moat services-than he ever received from his fellow man. 74 ' l'li IlliTfi . U .. ii i . , ,.:l:k ii , '.Cri: Ea 4 E I?; .. • • As theOPPositlotiyilouitials.ei7err t y resume theji ' Acrimonious jattacks upon Sir an Officer till the I, veent n Convention fth tPortugal v , was the,admirminty and. the hope of the scoutitfr,i , aud.who.is, so unjustly. censured while his •tileferie::.:iS unheard ) . , t sre , think it proper to submit to tir:Revitert:Ltho;followi n g Extract from.. Mr. Rah. ciSEAD YCTIIKE'S ;Political Register. But though_ we admire the teat and taknts of this, , shrewd, intelli gent, and spirited writer, we wish he.had displayed more forbearance towards the other. Coln-minders who are implicated to the transaction alluded to, a s they ought not to be condemnedunhearti; and as the whole transaction will in due time be§ubmit te d to the tribunal of the Nation, when.an,impartial decision must be the inevitable result. 0,•: " Imrnadiately after` the battle of Vimiera, it Wai CA: wish of Sir Arthur Wellesley to have pursued the flying enemy, but he was over-ruled by Sir Harry Burrard ; in consequence of which the French army was saved from total destruction. For the sun periority of oor • forces was so great, that there did not exist among the French a glimpse of hope that they could be able to effed their escape. They were prepared forabseltile surrender, in the event of the advance of the British army -It is also a very curie ous fatq, that, it was Sir A. Wellesley's intention to have attacked the enemy at Vimiera instead of wait. ing to be attacked himself; but in this, strange to say, he was also over-ruled. Here then was the foundation laid of all the following disgraceful pro. ceedings ; for if the' wind had kept-Sir H. Burrard back twenty-fourhoura only from landing, from the plan of operations which General Wellesley would have executed, and which he most strenuously urged to Sir Harry to execute, the Miele French - army must have been made prisoners of war, or have been utterly extirpated. Not ashadow of doubt was en tertained by any one in the British -army of one or the ()thereof these results ; for, independently of the high spirits of our troops after the achievement of so great a victory, the disheartened enemy, had lost nearly 4000 men, and we had another force equal to that which had beaten the French, ready to join and to engage them. el am therefore justified in ascribing all the subsequent transactions to this ex traordinary want of rigour on the part of Sir Harry Burrard; for, I presume, the writers who insist upon Sir Arthur Wellesley's taking a share in the repon sibility of the Convention, will not extend their zeal quite so far as to censure him for not having arrest d Burrard, or for not acting in defiance to his ora ders, when he found hith unwilling to stir an inch forward against a beaten enemy, of whose ruin there was no question after the battle of Vimiera. The Morning Chronicle of the cad, it must be acknow ledged, avows this doctrine by a reference to the re cent case of Governor Bligh, arrested by the Lieu tenant-Governor, Colonel Johnson, his inferior . offi cer. But there is no analogy between the two cases. The discretion of a commander in chief at the head 'of an army cannot be called in question during actual service; 'if it could, a door would be opened to a scene of jealous contention, which would wholly de stroy every principle of military subordination.---- Hence, the irresistible and uncontroulable authority vested in a commander in chief, is given with a view to unity of thought and action, which is indispen sably necessary to the success, and indeed to the prosecution of any military undertaking. We may regret, from the result, that an inferior had not the power to abide by his own better judgment in de spight of the will of his superior ; but we cannot pretend to assert, that he ought to have exercised this' power, without at once exploding all the maxims of military jurisprudence. If Sir Arthur Wellesley had risked his life by so violent an ad, I believe there would not have been :wanting persons among the number of his present calumniators, who w ou ld have loudly and - 'fiercely called for vengeance upon his head for such an 'infringement of duty, such an outrage on his superior-dfficer. The case of Gover nor Beigh is totally distind from this : it is in his civil. capacity that he is said to have misconducted himself, and to have provoked the strong measure which has been taken against him by 1113 subordi nate officer. There is a law which prescribes the limits of his power, atal if. he 'abused it, there exist precedents upon . record; which may be fou n d at t h e commencementaafThe'f atic century in the Island of Antigua, andeeinCe upon_ aeveral other occasions, by winch the step a t4eri a by Colonel Johnson may be justified. But there is 'no limit whatever to the pOwer of a commanding General in the .pro secution of the orders given to him by his Go vernment, and he is responsible to none but that Government for the nieasure3 he may pur sue. Idu not even know that an inferior officer, as such, would be warranted in arresting his superior at the head of his army, if he committed murder it self. But to return. Sir Harry Burrard being the proxiinate cause of the preservation of the French army, is amenable to his country upon that account; and he ought to be required to assign the motive s which influenced his mind in abstaining from further hostilities when the prosecution of them' was sure to have terminated successfu:iy. On the day after the battle of Vimiera, when S:r Hew D drymple had taken the command of the army, Sir Arthur Wellesley's plan of operations was again over-ruled. it Was warmly recommended to Dalryniple by Sir Arthur, to station Sir John Moore's division at San tarem, which would have cut offinnot's retreat, and then to advance upon him in front with the remain- der of the army. This likewise was over-ruled ; .per haps the Commander in Chiefs dinner weJuid have been spoilt by such an operation. Ie Short, Sir fieW Dalrymple and Sir Harry - Burrard took Sir Arthur Wellesley's opinion upon every clues:jou, and then acted directly contrary to it in spite of of all his re monstrances. "After such repeated and striking proofs of disre. gard to every measure propos , d by Sir Arthur Wel lesley ; after such marked indifference to the opini-ons he had given at their request, we cannot be at all surprised that they should insist upon his signin g a convention wbicti was the necessary result of the policy' they had adopted in d;reet:opposiiion to his advice. The Batton, took fire when they saw Sir Arthur Wellesley's name affixed to so degrading an instrutneut-; and all the stores of party antinusiiv were opened, to teed. the general indignation. But the people, after the first motneuts .ot passion had passed away, ought to have weighed the respective charaders of the CoznmandQrs, and to hare wcollect